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Permaculture 05 - Permaculture is Climate Control


The shape of your property, it's hills, valleys, gullies, and twists can cause different effects on your land than are prevalent even on the local news weather report. As such, we keep an eye for what design is best suited to our location and our property's experience. Check out the data from local sources, but also look around for the locally successful plants and animals, and ask your neighbors. This kind of information gives us the best foundation from which to develop a sustaining ecosystem.





Precipitation is the first, and most important issue of permaculture design. Two types can be inputs into our design – that water coming from above and the condensation that develops on the land. Both are important to the foundation of our site, surely we'll look at precipitation more though. Begin to think of ways to generate, conserve or store water at any opportunity (thus the rainwater barrel project posted before this discussion).






Solar is the second issue of permaculture design. Sure, it's nice to have the heat radiating out of the earth's core, but the vast majority of energy is directly from our Sun. Discovery ways to increase temperature, reduce it, to reflect it, and/or to concentrate it must feed into our planting foundation.









Wind can be a boon or a bane to our existence. While we can't make more wind, we certainly develop it to our advantage by diversion, but exclusion, or even to channel it's force and harness its energy. Windbreaks can divert strong winds and also drop the heat loss from your home, they can protect our livestock, and they can increase our moisture by not allowing evaporation caused by wind, and save us from soil erosion.





The shape of our property influences not only the weather that affects us, but the change in our permaculture strategies. We wouldn't apply the same principles on flat land as we would in the mountains. Altitude not only affects things for plants and livestock, but also the amount of oxygen in the air. Most plants tend to shy away from cold. Snow turning to vapor instead of melting to water can make irrigation more difficult.


Permaculture can take all these factors in mind wherever your home may be or conditions you experience you'll still be able to design a flourishing ecosystem.


 


Jimmy Barrett is a Business Services Professional, working from home with a Family of four. He's enjoying the journey of learning about Permaculture and adding its practices to his own home garden. Please note that opinions expressed by Jimmy Barrett may not be shared by Heart 2 Heart Farms, should you have any questions please feel free to email us directly.


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